Between the Covers

Host Marianne Barisonek interviews Idaho writer Kim Barnes about A Country Called Home, which tells the story of the fallout that occurs when one man checks out of his life and another checks in. Barnes is the author of the acclaimed memoir In the Wilderness set in the great forests of Idaho, where geography and isolation shape love and family. In this novel, she returns to this territory, with a tale of hope and idealism, faith and madness.
The novel is set in 1960, when the main characters abandon a guaranteed future in upper-crust Connecticut and take off for a utopian adventure in the Idaho wilderness. The sudden, frightening birth of a daughter changes something deep inside their marriage. In the aftermath of a tragic accident suspicion, anger, and regret come to haunt this shattered family.